Chapter XI.—The Profane Account Given of the Origin of Christ and the Holy Ghost Sternly Rebuked. An Absurdity Respecting the Attainment of the Knowledge of God Ably Exposed.

Accordingly, after the banishment of the Enthymesis, and the return of her mother Sophia to her husband, the (illustrious) Monogenes, the Nus,123    Ille nus. released indeed from all care and concern of the Father, in order that he might consolidate all things, and defend and at last fix the Pleroma, and so prevent any concussion of the kind again, once more124    Iterum: above. emits a new couple125    Copulationem: The profane reference is to Christ and the Spirit. (blasphemously named). I should suppose the coupling of two males to be a very shameful thing, or else the one126    [A shocking reference to the Spirit which I modify to one of the Divine Persons.] must be a female, and so the male is discredited127    Vulneratur. by the female. One divinity is assigned in the case of all these, to procure a complete adjustment among the Æons. Even from this fellowship in a common duty two schools actually arise, two chairs,128    Cathedræ. and, to some extent,129    Quædam. the inauguration of a division in the doctrine of Valentinus. It was the function of Christ to instruct the Æons in the nature of their conjugal relations130    Conjugiorum. (you see what the whole thing was, of course!), and how to form some guess about the unbegotten,131    Innati conjectationem. and to give them the capacity of generating within themselves the knowledge of the Father; it being impossible to catch the idea of him, or comprehend him, or, in short, even to enjoy any perception of him, either by the eye or the ear, except through Monogenes (the Only-begotten). Well, I will even grant them what they allege about knowing the Father, so that they do not refuse us (the attainment of) the same. I would rather point out what is perverse in their doctrine, how they were taught that the incomprehensible part of the Father was the cause of their own perpetuity,132    Perpetuitatis: i.e. “what was unchangeable in their condition and nature.” whilst that which might be comprehended of him was the reason133    Rationem: perhaps “the means.” of their generation and formation. Now by these several positions134    Hac dispositione. the tenet, I suppose, is insinuated, that it is expedient for God not to be apprehended, on the very ground that the incomprehensibility of His character is the cause of perpetuity; whereas what in Him is comprehensible is productive, not of perpetuity, but rather of conditions which lack perpetuity—namely, nativity and formation.  The Son, indeed, they made capable of comprehending the Father. The manner in which He is comprehended, the recently produced Christ fully taught them.  To the Holy Spirit, however, belonged the special gifts, whereby they, having been all set on a complete par in respect of their earnestness to learn, should be enabled to offer up their thanksgiving, and be introduced to a true tranquillity.

CAPUT XI.

Igitur post Enthymesin extorrem, et matrem ejus Sophiam conjugi reducem, ille iterum Monogenes, ille Nus, otiosus plane de patris cura atque prospectu, solidandis rebus, et Pleromati muniendo, jamque figendo, ne qua ejusmodi rursus concussio incuteret , novam excludit copulationem, Christum et Spiritum Sanctum: turpissimum par duorum masculorum: aut foemina erit Spiritus Sanctus: et vulneratur a foemina masculus . Numen his datur unum, procurare concinnationem Aeonum. Et ab ejus officii societate, duae scholae protinus, duae cathedrae, 0560A inauguratio quaedam dividendae doctrinae Valentini. Christi erat inducere Aeonas naturam conjugiorum (vides quam rem plane , et innati conjectationem, et idoneos efficere generandi in se agnitionem patris, quod capere eum non sit neque comprehendere, non visu denique; non auditu compotiri ejus, nisi per Monogenen. Et tamen tolerabo quod ita discunt patrem nosse ne nossent . Illam magis doctrinae denotabo perversitatem, quod docebantur incomprehensibile quidem patris, caussam esse perpetuitatis ipsorum: comprehensibile vero ejus, generationis illorum et formationis esse Rationem. Hac enim dispositione illud opinor insinuatur, expedire Deum non apprehendi: siquidem inapprehensibile ejus, perpetuitatis est 0561A caussa: apprehensibile autem, non perpetuitatis, sed nativitatis et formationis, egentium perpetuitatis. Filium autem constituunt apprehensibilem patris. Quomodo tamen apprehendatur, tum prolatus Christus edocuit. Spiritus vero Sancti propria, ut de doctrinae studio omnes peraequati, gratiarum actionem prosequi nossent, et veram inducerentur quietem .